Obama touts 'Made in America' credo

President Barack Obama on Saturday touted his trip through the Asia Pacific region as a nine-day jobs mission that made strides in opening foreign markets to American companies.

He delivered the weekly radio and Internet address from Indonesia, where he joined business leaders this week in announcing trade deals that he said will support nearly 130,000 American jobs and boost exports by as much as $39 billion.

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“These agreements will help us reach my goal of doubling American exports by 2014 — a goal we’re on pace to meet,” Obama said. “And they’re powerful examples of how we can rebuild an economy that’s focused on what our country has always done best — making and selling products all over the world that are stamped with three proud words: ‘Made in America.’

“This is important, because over the last decade, we became a country that relied too much on what we bought and consumed,” Obama continued. “We racked up a lot of debt, but we didn’t create many jobs at all. If we want an economy that’s built to last and built to compete, we have to change that.”

Obama will return Sunday from his trip, during which he hosted an economic conference in Hawaii, announced an expanded U.S. military presence in Australia and attended an economic and security summit in Indonesia. Along the way, he met one-on-one with about a dozen foreign leaders.

He drew some attacks from his GOP presidential rivals for making a comment in Hawaii that U.S. policymakers have been “lazy” in recent decades in trying to attract foreign investors to America. Republicans, however, took the remark out of context and accused Obama of saying Americans were lazy.

Obama seemed to go out of his way Saturday to make clear that he meant the opposite of what Republicans were claiming.

“We may be going through tough times, but as I’ve said time and time again, the United States still has the world’s most dynamic economy, the finest universities, the most innovative companies, and the hardest-working people on Earth,” Obama said in the address. “We can compete against anybody — and we can win. As president, I intend to make sure that happens by doing everything I can to give American workers and businesses the chance to succeed.”